Over 50% of Unemployed Bulgarians Were at Risk of Poverty in 2016

Sofia, February 27 (BTA) - Nearly 55 per cent of unemployed Bulgarians were at risk of monetary poverty after social transfers in 2016, according to a Eurostat study of jobless people aged 15 to 64. Latvia and Estonia had similar at-risk-of-poverty rates, while the EU average was 48.7 per cent.

The National Statistical Institute (NSI) reported 245,000 unemployed persons in 2016, meaning that 134,000 (55 per cent) of them were at risk of poverty. People with jobs that year numbered 2.9 million, while people outside the workforce totalled 1.4 million.

The Employment Agency reported 237,322 unemployed people registered with job offices in January 2018. The largest labour shortage was observed in the following activities: manufacturing 30 per cent, state administration 14 per cent, trade 13 per cent, administrative and support services 7 per cent, and accommodation and food services 5 per cent.

A breakdown by occupation shows that in January employers using the services of job centres wanted to hire mainly carers; machine operators; shop assistants; qualified staff in the production of food, clothing and woodwork; workers in mining and quarrying, construction and transport; and staff engaged in personal services (bar tenders, waiters, chambermaids, etc).

Across the EU Member States in 2016, the rate of unemployed persons at risk of poverty was highest in Germany (70.8 per cent), followed at a distance by Lithuania (60.5 per cent). According to Eurostat, persons at risk of poverty are those living in a household with an equivalised disposable income below the risk-of-poverty threshold, which is set at 60 per cent of the national median equivalised disposable income (after social transfers). Germany's high national disposable income threshold accounts for its high at-risk-of-poverty rate of unemployed persons.

At the opposite end of the scale, fewer than 40 per cent of unemployed persons were at risk of poverty in Cyprus and Finland (both 37.3 per cent), France (38.4 per cent) and Denmark (38.6 per cent)